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Gender neutral language: Difference between revisions
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'''Gender-neutral language''', also called '''gender-inclusive language''', is the practice of using words that don't give an idea of someone being female or male. For example, the word "fireman" gives the idea that a person in that work is male. An offer for a job as a "cleaning lady" gives the idea that only a woman should do the job. The gender-neutral alternatives are to say "fire fighter" and "janitor," respectively. Then it is easier to see that these jobs can be done by a person of any gender. Gender-neutral language is important in [[Feminism|feminism]], because changing the way that people talk can help make [[sexism|sexist]] ideas less common. For example, the sexist idea that some jobs should only be done by people of certain genders. | '''Gender-neutral language''', also called '''gender-inclusive language''', is the practice of using words that don't give an idea of someone being female or male. For example, the word "fireman" gives the idea that a person in that work is male. An offer for a job as a "cleaning lady" gives the idea that only a woman should do the job. The gender-neutral alternatives are to say "fire fighter" and "janitor," respectively. Then it is easier to see that these jobs can be done by a person of any gender. Gender-neutral language is important in [[Feminism|feminism]], because changing the way that people talk can help make [[sexism|sexist]] ideas less common. For example, the sexist idea that some jobs should only be done by people of certain genders. | ||
Gender-neutral language is also important to many people who have [[Nonbinary gender| | Gender-neutral language is also important to many people who have [[Nonbinary gender|nonbinary gender identities]]. For one reason, this kind of talk helps fight against [[nonbinary erasure]], which is the common but wrong and sexist idea that there are only two genders. Since gender-neutral language doesn't give the idea that a person is male or female, it can also apply to people who identify as other genders, outside of the [[Gender binary|gender binary]]. Nonbinary people can ask to be talked about in this way. | ||
==Chinese== | ==Chinese== | ||
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''See also: [[Glossary of French gender and sex terminology]].'' | ''See also: [[Glossary of French gender and sex terminology]].'' | ||
French, like other romance languages, traditionally has only two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine. Additionally, according to the standard language rules, masculine is always treated as the generic gender, meaning that a mixed-gender group will always be referred to in masculine (and not in feminine, unless everyone is a woman). These rules have been established over the centuries by men and male-led institutions like the ''Académie Française'' | French, like other romance languages, traditionally has only two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine. Additionally, according to the standard language rules, masculine is always treated as the generic gender, meaning that a mixed-gender group will always be referred to in masculine (and not in feminine, unless everyone is a woman). These rules have been established over the centuries by men and male-led institutions like the ''Académie Française''. In 1675, talking about the grammar of the French language, abbot Dominique Bouhours stated "When both genders meet, the most noble must prevail". French inclusive language refuses such rules, and feminist and queer activists work hard to try and rid French of its sexism. They have developed over the last few decades different ways to adapt the French language to be more inclusive of women and gender minorities. | ||
However, there is not one single way to speak inclusively in French, but rather, there are a wide variety of tools and workarounds one can use to adapt one's language. It should also be noted that the "mainstream" inclusive language used by an ever growing number or people, journals and institutions aims at being inclusive of women. These changes, albeit fairly minimal, are still very controversial with certain people. The problem of a language inclusive of the nonbinary community hasn't yet reached the mainstream debate and remains mostly confined within queer and feminist circles. | However, there is not one single way to speak inclusively in French, but rather, there are a wide variety of tools and workarounds one can use to adapt one's language. It should also be noted that the "mainstream" inclusive language used by an ever growing number or people, journals and institutions aims at being inclusive of women. These changes, albeit fairly minimal, are still very controversial with certain people. The problem of a language inclusive of the nonbinary community hasn't yet reached the mainstream debate and remains mostly confined within queer and feminist circles. | ||
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|'''lea''' | |'''lea''' | ||
|It is the main gender neutral object pronoun. It is used to refer to | |It is the main gender neutral object pronoun. It is used to refer to nonbinary people or someone whose gender is yet unknown. It is often paired with "''iel''" | ||
|"'''Iel''' est arrivé-e à la gare, je ne vais pas tarder à aller '''lea''' chercher" | |"'''Iel''' est arrivé-e à la gare, je ne vais pas tarder à aller '''lea''' chercher" | ||
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==Italian== | ==Italian== | ||
Italian, as with other romance languages, presents challenges for inclusivity of | Italian, as with other romance languages, presents challenges for inclusivity of nonbinary genders in that grammatically there only exists masculine and feminine genders. Although it descended from Latin, which had 3 genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), it has since lost its neuter form. Nevertheless, different approaches might be transform the way Italian is spoken to make it more gender inclusive. | ||
===Nouns=== | ===Nouns=== | ||
Italian has masculine and feminine grammatical genders, although some nouns ending in -e (singular)/ -i (plural) hint at a suggested neutral form not dissimilar from gender ambiguous nouns in Spanish (ex. el estudiante and la gente both end in -e even though they are gendered masculine and feminine). | Italian has masculine and feminine grammatical genders, although some nouns ending in -e (singular)/ -i (plural) hint at a suggested neutral form not dissimilar from gender ambiguous nouns in Spanish (ex. el estudiante and la gente both end in -e even though they are gendered masculine and feminine). | ||
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''See also: [[Glossary of Russian gender and sex terminology]].'' | ''See also: [[Glossary of Russian gender and sex terminology]].'' | ||
Unlike English, Russian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. While neuter allows some | Unlike English, Russian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. While neuter allows some nonbinary people adjectives to use, this gender is not ideal for nonbinary people for grammatical reasons. The first is that most neuter nouns decline like masculine nouns. The second is that neuter animate nouns do not change in the accusative case (though there are rare neuter animate nouns that change in the accusative plural; see [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/лицо#Declension "лицо" in Wiktionary]), while both masculine and feminine nouns do. This implies that people using neuter words are not human. | ||
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